I am in the field of Safety in India for 6 years now. Worked in construction and drilling industry. Always wanted to get in oil and gas field for better opportunities, for better safety standards ( here standards keeps on changing with different companies). But sometimes its get fustrating when your employer says safety is Client driven, if client insists you work hard on safety otherwise safety takes backseat. This gets really fustrating and disheartning, and one has to think IS THIS CAREER OPTION REALLY WORTH IT? Does anybody out there have same experience and Please let me know how to deal with such situations? Abhijit

Abhijit, I suppose it depends on how you value worth. In pure financial terms, then I've got to say that here in the UK - probably not. If you need to feel valued by your employer then again it really would depend on the ethos of the company you end up working for. But if you value improving the situation of and making a difference for your fellow human (whatever the cause of that motivation) then, absolutely the career is immeasurably worth it.

In my experience of H+S, were always the bad guys. But when there's an incident were one of the first to be called for. The advice we give saves lives, but when there isn't an incident we get no credit. How I used to get job satisfaction is at the end of the day and all the people on my site go home at the end of their shift. Its a bit like having a wee in a dark suit, you get a warm feeling but no-one else notices!! :)

Abhijit, I can only say that in the present world, it is a matter of time when a company understands how much the accidents cost them and what it can cost in terms of reputation and fines from authorities as well. Also, sooner or later companies include HSE milestones \ statistics as key-performance indicators in their balanced scorecards, and also find out that good safety record can also be used as a positive PR for the company. Example from Russia where I work: just 15 years ago, industry was performance-driven and safety of people was not on the list of priorities. The things changed quite a bit, and now looking at major companies, many of them have well written HSE Policies, Senior Management Commitement statements and HSE standards. Another issue is that not all of that is being followed still, but things are improving.

Very well said, Health & Safety is one of the most frustrating topics to introduce into most companies, but it is also one of the most important. Anybody who has to ask if it is worth it, should maybe contemplate a career change. My approach is that all will adhere sooner or later, they may argue, call me names behind my back, but our employees are slowley adhering, (whether they realise it or not), i merely keep on hitting problem areas and continually hounding my MD, (who must be getting sick and tired of me by now), but over the past 12 months, i/we have really seen an improvement. Some are actually approaching me and requesting help and information. Just implement a non biased approach, as soon as they know that you are not only there for the good of the company/directors, they will trust you and start to listen. (Hopefully)!

Abhijit Abhijit, I sympathise with your predicament! In India, It seems that health and safety indeed takes a back seat unless the construction project client demands not only minimum standards, but good practice that will prevent accidents and injuiries. One just has to read about the recent spate of multiple fatalities on some "prestigious constructions projects", including the New Delhi Meteo project, the Kota Bridge collapse and the collapsed chimney of Balco's new aluminium smelter at its Korba complex just to name a few. The problem lies with the lax enforcement of the law and lack of "punishment" of the negligent parties. UNless the entire Health and Safety system is changed, the onus will be on the good employers and also good clients. Perhaps you could try working for good employers (such as Larsen and Toubro's ECC Division or a reputable multinational outfit), but they are a very small minority. Therefore, it is down to your personal preferences. Did you get into health and safety primarily because you have a passion for it or was it due to circumstances that you selected this profession. If it is the former, there are times, even with good employers when we feel frustrated. Do you have a network of like-minded professionals who can influence this through your regionsl/national bodies??